Railroad-rail joint.



' l. STRONG.

RAILROAD RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 3|. 1916.

Patented May 29, 1917.

IRA STRONG, OF PETROL, NORTH DAKOTA,

ssrenoaor ONE-HALF 1'0 HOWARD J.

WRIGHT, OF DES 1VIOINES,'IOWA.

RAILROAD-RAIL JOINT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Iiatented May 29, 1917.

Application filed July 31, 1916. Serial No. 112,428.

To all whom it may concern;

e it known thatI, IRA STRONG, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Petrol, in the county of Adams and State of North akota, have invented a certain new and useful Railroad-Rail Joint, of which the following is a specification.

he object of my invention is to provide a railroad rail joint of simple, durable and inexpensive construction.

A further object is to rail joint so constructed verse joints in the rail.

Still a further object is to provide such a joint having parts so constructed and arranged that while the train is passing over the joint one rail member will not be higher or lower than another.

Still a further object is to. provide such a rail joint so made, that the parts can be readily and easily assembled on the job.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of the device wherebythe objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth pointed out in my claim and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in w ich:

Figure 1 shows atop or plan view of a railroad rail joint embodying my invention.

Fig. hows a side elevation of the same.

Fig. 3 shows a top or plan view of one end of the main rail. r

Fig. 4 shows a side elevation of the same.

Fig. 5 shows a transverse, sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 shows a transverse, sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 7 shows a perspective view of one of the parts of my improved rail joint.

The construction of my improved rail joint involves some modification of the end of the ordinary rails and, the use of a connecting member of peculiar form.

In the accompanying drawings, I have used the reference numeral 10 to indicate the ball of an ordinary rail, having the portion 11 and the base 12. As will Figs. 3 and 4, the end of the ball 10 is cut or beveled diagonally across the rail, and the web 11 and base 12 extend for some distance beyond the beveled end of the ball 10.

In the web 11 are a plurality of longitudinally elongated holes 13. The ends of the balls 11 of the adjacent rails may'be beveled as. to avoid transprovide a railroad against each other.

011 parallel lines, or as shown in Fig. be beveled in substantially rections.

The form of rails shown in Fig. 1 is pref erably used where my improved rail oint is used on a single track road. Where the rail joint is used on a. double track road where the trains run in the same direction over one track at all times, I preferably bevel the ends of the adjacent rails so that they are parallel with each other.

The central or connecting member of my improved rail joint comprises a ball or tread portion 14 having its ends beveled to fit the beveled ends of the balls of the adjacent rails.

Below the ball 14 of the connecting rail member is a downwardly opening channel 15 of less width from side to side than the ball 14. At the lower edges of the walls of the channel shaped member 15 are clownwardly and outwardly extending flanges 16 adapted to rest on the upper surfaces of the 12 on opposite sides of the rail with 1, may in opposite d1- 15 and the flange 16 connected therewith extends fiush with the adjacent ends of the ball 14 of the connecting rail member. The opposite wall of the channel 15, and the flange 16 connected therewith extends to the point where the beveled portion of the ball 14 commences, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

In assembling my improved rail joint two rails with their ends constructed as hereinbefore described are placed in alinement with their ends substantially abutting Some space may be allowed "between the joints to allow for expansion. The connecting rail member is then lowered from above, over the projecting portion of the web 11, with the beveled ends of the ball 14 of each rail member fitted against the beveled ends of the adjacent rails.

The channel 16 is provided with a plurality of openings so arranged that the bolt 17 may be extended through said openings and through the openings 13 hereinbefore described. It will be seen that the flanges 16 rest upon the base 12 of the rail. The lapping rail heads prevent any raising or lowering of the connecting joint member with relation to the rail with which it is connected, which I consider an important feature of my invention on account of the fact that it prevents a clicking which is due to the fact that where the ordinary rails are used, the wheels of the train pass from the lower end of one rail to the higher end of an adjacent rail.

The manner in which the ends of the rails and the ends of the ball of the rail member are beveled, does away with the transverse joint between the rail balls. 1 preferably secure an angle iron 18 to the web 11 of each rail adjacent to the end of the short wall of the channel 15, as shown in Fig. 2, whereby the thick portion of the beveled end of the ball of the rail is supported. Tl thick portion of the ball 14L of the connecting rail member is supported by the other wall of the channel. 15.

The advantages of a joint of this kind are largely seen from the foregoing description.

Where ordinary rail joints are used, constant difiiculty occurs on account of the fact that at the joint one rail. is depressed as the train passes thereover, so that when the next adjacent rail is reached its ends are slightly higher than that of the rail on which the car wheels rest, and the higher rail end is struck a sharp blow by the wheels. This causes vibration of the train and also very rapidly wears away the rails.

A. very large part of the work of section men on the railroad consists in raising the so called low joint, and in placing something under the ends of the rails, so that the adjacent ends will be at the same height when the train passes over.

This work will be very largely done away with, with a joint of the type herein described.

The connecting member being short it is always carried up and down with the move- Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the ment of the adjacent rails, so as to remain on the same level therewith, whereby there is avoided the click due to the striking of the wheels against the ends of the rails, and the consequent vibration which injures the wheels of the train and the rail itself.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the various parts of my improved rail joint without departing from the essential features and purposes thereof, and it is my intention to cover by this application any modifications in structure which come within the reasonable scope of my claim.

I claim as my invention:

A railway rail joint comprising rails placed end to end, the webs and bases of said rails projecting beyond the balls thereof, the ends of said balls being beveled, a connecting joint member comprising a ball portion having its ends beveled to fit the beveled ends of the balls of the rails, a downwardly opening channel-shaped member receiving the webs of: the rails, laterally and outwardly extending flanges at the lower edges of the walls of said channel-shaped portions designed to rest on the bases of the rails, the ends of the walls of the channel shaped member extending from each end of said member on opposite sides thereof, respectively, to the beginning and the extreme ends of the beveled portion of the ball of the connecting rail member, and an angle iron secured to each rail adjacent to the short end of the wall of the channel-shaped member and adapted to engage the web of the rail and support the thin portion of the beveled part of the ball of the rail.

Des Moines, Iowa, July 17, 1916.

IRA STRONG.

Commissioner 01 Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

